I can never forget the afternoon lunch I was having with my parents. My father had just crossed his eightieth Birthday. Though he had slowed down a little bit as he had decided to give up all his consultancy work after the age of seventy five, but still he was active and was providing his honorary services to the retirees association of ONGC where he had worked for a long time. He was a gentle helpful soul who was available to everyone for any help. He read the scriptures with great devotion and being a Krishna devotee he was very fond of reading Geeta. The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu scripture, and there are many respected authors who had tried to explain it. He had a number of interpretations in his collection. He often discussed his understanding of the Geeta with me. On that particular day, out of the blue he said “ I often think, what is the purpose of life at this stage. I am not doing anything except waiting for the end “. Spontaneously I replied “ maybe God is giving you this time to bless your children and grandchildren.
Who can bless us better than you. You are always reading something or praying to God so your blessings will manifest in our lives “. He was happy like a child and said “ you are right, I never thought of this perspective. It is so beautiful “.
Later I read somewhere that when you are cotent and are not plagued by your desires, your needs, your ambitions, you gain the ability to bless. This skill is further enhanced through meditation, satsang, chanting or listening to spiritual discourses or reading spiritual books and doing Sewa and last but not the least , a sense of gratitude. All these practices not only lead to contentment but also purity of thoughts, emotions and ultimately purity of our soul.
In India we have this beautiful tradition of touching the feet of elders and seek their blessings on all important occasions. Also known as Charan Sparsh, it has been followed for ages, probably since the Vedic period. before commencing any job or leaving for work, or after coming home or meeting someone after a long time, Indians touch the feet of elders. We do it even for older people who are introduced to us for the first time. It is believed that when a person bows down to touch the feet of elders, the person’s ego comes to an end. The person gives respect to the elder’s wisdom, knowledge, age, and experience. In return the elders bless the person who is touching the feet. The blessings always bring in positive vibrations in the receiver. The blessings enhance the faith in God as well as oneself in difficult times. When one bows down before God, or when parents or grandparents bless before an exam or an interview, the person feels more confident.
In order to pass on powerful blessings
Every person should draw a line in his or her life so that one is able to decide that if this much has been achieved then one is satisfied. If one gets more in terms of money or position, it should be taken as God’s blessings and one should further work with gratitude. This is the point when we withdraw from the rat race. This doesn’t mean being lethargic or not working hard. You now work to give back to the society too. One may keep earning if he wants to but then the sense of contentment should be there and the intention to help the deprived should lead the path. This contentment and gratitude will give power to the blessings that one gives to children or anyone else.
According to a spiritual Guru “ A blessing is always given to others, not for oneself. Being able to bless is a complete expression of a caring and sharing attitude, of being available to serve and bring peace and harmony to those who seek your help “. We have a friend who has done blessings course at Art of Living Foundation. I remember another incident from college days when my colleague’s husband was suddenly admitted to the hospital with a heart problem. Both husband and wife were very tense. I requested our friend who had done the blessings course to bless the patient. He immediately joined me in the hospital, asked the patient to close his eyes and blessed him. After that he just chatted with the couple for a few minutes and then left. According to my colleague after that both husband and wife were at peace and had faith in God that everything is going to be fine and very soon the process of recovery started. Till this day she remembers this incident. I don’t know if it was psychology at work or something else but my belief strengthened that we should always try to look after our elders and get their blessings in abundance and as elders we should try to always have a feeling ofabundance, gratitude, contentment and purity of the heart so that we can bless the youngsters.
Purity of heart means that we treat all humans as equals, not differentiating between rich or poor, the employer and the servant, son and a daughter, between daughter and daughter in law, mother and mother in law. According to another spiritual Guru blessing is a piece of energy from the divine that can manifest our wishes. The power of blessing refers to the ability to impart positive energy, good wishes, and good fortune to the receiver. The person who blesses is a sort of a link between God and the recipient. Enjoy being blessed and happily bless all.